Curling-iron



(No Model.)

H S MIT H GURLING IRON.

.No. 525,164. 'Patentedi Aug. 28, 1894.

WITNESSES.-

INVENTO/Y B) %/j/frnea\ ATTOI? 5%,

m: NORRIS PETER: co, Puoro-uwoo WASHINGTON u c UNITED STAT SYATENT OFFICE.

HENRY SMITH, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

CURLING-IRON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 525,164, dated August 28, 1894..

Application filed January 19, 1894. Serial No. 497.453- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cincinnati, in

the county of Hamilton, State of. Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvehas for its object to produce a device which shall be simple, cheap, and very efiective, and which consists in the improved construction of the same as will be hereinafter more f ullyw set forth.

As heretofore constructed, curling irons have had the mandrel or portion over which the hair has been curled either made solid or as a shell, having a solid wall, such constructions being based upon the theory that the heat should beradiated from the outer surface of the iron into the hair. In either case, it is necessary to heat the entire iron or to heat a removable corewhich is placed within the shell and left there until the heat has passed into the shell and from there is radi-.

ated, which requires a greater or less amount of time according to the means employed for heating the iron. But I have foundthat by making the mandrel full of holes from one end to the other, so that it becomes substantially porous for the passage of heat, a very superior iron is produced, as a heating substance can be inserted into the interior from which the heat-will be radiated through the perforations of the mandrel directly into the hair, and thereby effect quite a saving in time and also in material used for heating.

In the accompanying drawings which show one form of carrying my invention into effect,

and in which the same reference letters indicate the same parts in the different views, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a curling iron constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a modification of the pressure plate, and Fig. 4 is a modification of the support for the heatingmedium.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, B indicates the tube or mandrel around which the hair is wrapped which it is desired to heat and curl, and which is preferably formed from a sheet of finely perforated metal rolled into a cylinder of the desired size and length. A suitable handle A, is attached to one end of the tube, as by forming the handle with a reduced portion, a, which 1s 1nserted into the end of the tube and secured in any'desired manner. The opposite end of the tube or mandrel may be closedbya plug D. A suitable pressure plate F is pivotally secured to the handle with one end pro ecting along the tube and the other end extending over the handle so that it may be grasped by the hand when in use, and the clamp portion moved away from the tube for the insertion of the hair.

One means of applying heat to the interior of the tube or mandrel is by means of a suitable cartridge O which is placed Within the mandrel and supplied with sufficient air to keep it burning while the hairis being curled. Toprevent the ashes from the cartridge pass: ing through the perforations in the cylinder into the hair I prefer touse a cartridge which is so composed that after it has burned, 1t holds together and does not drop apart butI make no claim to the particular construction of the cartridge as any suitable kind maybe used with my invention. Owing to the Intense heat generated by combustion, 1t is desirable that the cartridge be supported at a distance from the walls of the mandrel so as not to burn the hair directly adjacent to the portion of the cartridge that is burning. For this reason, I prefer to support the cartridge by means of a wire H coiled at its inner portion h. Byinserting the opposite or uncoiled end of the wire into the plug D, and by making the coil of a less diameter than the interior diameter of the mandrel the inner end of the wire, together with the cartridge, is supported about centrally of the mandrel and the heat is thereby radiated equally in all directions. As the perforations in the surface of the mandrel are so numerous there is butlittle obstruction to the passage of the heat from the cartridge directly into the hair, and therefore, a Very small amount of heating material is needed and the operation is performed in much less time than is required for heating a solid mandrel or for heating a core and inserting it into a hollow shell and waiting for the shell to become hot enough to curl the braid of hair, and also through which the air.

can pass to the interior of the tube at the outer or thin portion of the braid. As a portion of the hair must be caught between the clamp and the mandrel and the remaining portion of the hair wound around the mandrel and the plate, the importance of perforating the plate, which preferably extends from end to end of the clamp portion of the plate, becomes apparent. The perforations therefore may consist of a long slot G extending from end to end, or it may consist of a series of perforations as shown in Fig. 3. Instead of making the mandrel of perforated sheet metal, it could be made of astrip of fine wire gauze with smaller or larger mesh, as desired, either one of which would permit of the heat passing directly to the exteriorof the mandrel and into the hair except the small amount which would be absorbed by the material comprising the mandrel and be radiated from there into the hair. It is also preferable when the handle is made of wood, which I find very satisfactory and desirable, to fasten upon the inner face of the reduced portion a a metallic plate K which is most conveniently made in the form of a button with a shank for entering the handle. This will prevent the heat from the cartridge charring or burning the end of, the handle, and instead ofusing the coiledwire for supporting the cartridge, a plate may be used adapted to bear upon the opposite end of the cartridge from the handle, as shown in Fig. 4.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A curling iron comprising a hollow mandrel provided with a handle at one end, and

a perforated clamp pivotally secured thereto, said mandrel being provided throughout its entire surface with numerousperforations, and means for supporting a heating substance within the mandrel,whereby the heat from said substance may be radiated directly through the perforations in the mandrel into the hair, substantially as set forth.

2. A curling iron comprising, in combination, a hollow mandrel provided throughout its entire surface with numerous perforations, and having a handle at one endand aremovable plug at the other, a perforated clamp pivotally secured to the handle, and a wire rigidly secured in the plug, the inner end of which is provided with a coil of a less diameter than the interiordiameter of the mandrel, for supporting a cartridge at adistance from the walls of the mandrel, whereby the heat from the cartridge may be equally radiated in all directions through the perforations of the mandrel into the hair, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY SMITH.

NVitnesses:

H. HEAD, A. O. BINKLEY. 

